$150 per barrel, your opinion of the impact.

[Cobra]

Thing is, people are freaking out over the 55+/barrel price now. Inflation adjusted, the late 70's, early 80's oil crisis, oil was just around $90/barrel. I'd say that's the point you'd start seeing an impact. Oil prices have increased over 10% the last few weeks, yet gasoline prices have stayed relatively stable. Also, you are paying $90/barrel for gasoline already as is if you use the average US regular price of @2.20 or so. I don't think it will hit 150 anytime soon, and I doubt in 5 years.

The inflationary argument cracks me up. Inflation means little to the average American citizen who rents their residence and lives on middle class income. I think the term is just an excuse to prevent another proposition 13 type revolt/anarchy. In this case, inflation rhetoric via the energy companies that gets passed down from the politicos to the media down to the final audience you and me.

In laymen's terms the mantra goes like this: "See ______ (insert oil company name here), we really aren't gouging you-the consumer because when you compare the inflationary rate with the cost of hydrocarbons back in 1970 blah, blah, blah you are actually paying less than....So you see blah, blah.

Cheers,
G



G

 

[some_dude]

Maybe you could cite a source for this from government or industry?

I will (this is a pdf file), called "Unconventional Oil: Filling the Gap or Flooding the Market" from the DOE:

http://www.firstgov.gov/fgsearch/re...//www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/conf/pdf/lynch.pdf

As the above document points out, the price/barrel of oil derived from tar sands is steadily falling. At the moment, oil shale is not competitive, but in 10 years or so, it could be.

And use a little common sense! If it required more energy to extract the oil from shale or tar sands, no one would do it, would they? The extraction process requires heat, which has to come from somewhere. My understanding is that the mining process releases quite a bit of natural gas as a byproduct, which is then used as a source of heat.

It is true that extracting oil from tar sands and oil shale is not as efficient as pumping liquid oil out of the ground. This is why it is more expensive.

Hi!

THere's lots of oil shale and tar sands in Canada. Unfortunately, with current techology, we have to burn a lot of natural gas to get the oil out of those resources, and the supply of natural gas will peak soon after the supplly of oil peaks. I read that we don't have enough natural gas to get the oil out of those resources in Canada.

Cliff
YIP